Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to gunstock floor plates. More specifically, the present invention relates to the release of a floor plate or magazine in the bottom metal assembly of a gunstock floor plate.
Description of the Related Art
The gunstock of a rifle is that part of the rifle to which to which the barrel and firing mechanism are attached. Also coupled to or integrated with the stock is the floor plate. Floor plates are well known in the art and operate to close the bottom of the magazine recess in a bolt-action rifle having a clip-loaded magazine.
One type of floor plate is the hinged floor plate. A hinged floor plate is a floor plate that swings open but remains attached to the rifle such as might be found in a Remington 700 rifle. Cartridges are loaded with the bolt in the open position and pushed down into the magazine-well area of the stock. To unload the cartridges, a switch or button located by the trigger is actuated to allow the bottom of the action to open and dispense unused cartridges.
Some rifle floor plate designs allow for a clip magazine to be mounted to a hinged floor plate. Cartridges are loaded into a clip that can be inserted into the stock and removed by actuating a switch or button as described above. Such a design is sometimes referred to as a drop box, a detachable magazine, or a detachable box magazine.
Recoil is the backward momentum of a rifle during discharge of a projectile. Recoil results when a rifle balances the forward momentum of a projectile and exhaust in accordance with Newton's Third Law of Motion (i.e., all forces exist in pairs). Rifles with hinged floor plates (or floor plates allowing for introduction of a drop box or detachable magazine) and that have heavy recoil will often cause the trigger finger of a shooter to unintentionally come into contact with the aforementioned switch or button of the floor plate. The heavy recoil of the rifle coupled with the unintentional contact results in actuation and a resulting opening of the action, which dispenses unused cartridges.
This unintentional recoil contact, actuation, and dispensing of cartridges or release of a drop box or clip can be an inconvenient annoyance. Cartridges or clips can be lost or damaged as a result of the unintentional and unwanted opening of the action. Collection and reinsertion of the unintentionally dispensed cartridges interrupts a shooting experience, which can lessen the enjoyment of the shooter or result in a missed shooting opportunity. Some shooters may, however, be involved in big game hunting (e.g., large game such as elephants or other African game). If the action opens and dispenses cartridges following ejection of a projectile, the now injured and unquestionably startled game could elect to attach the shooter causing severe injury—or death—as the shooter attempts to recollect and reintroduce unintentionally dispenses ammunition.
There is a need in the art to solve the problem of those rifles having hinged floor plates and heavy recoil from erroneously ejecting cartridges as a result of unintentional trigger finger contact following firing.